Not a lot about brain injury in this one!  

More a case of things that have kept my mind occupied, of late

 

And without further ado...

 

Here’s a question for you...

    What is the connection?








 


And the answer is...

 

Believe it or not, these things are related!

 

 

·      On most Wednesdays, I attend a South Manchester and Stockport Headway session.

 

·      We meet in a place called the Bridge Hall Community Centre.

 

·      That building is next door to the primary school.

 

·      Former pupils, include both Phil Foden and Angela Rayner – indeed, she launched her bid for the deputy leadership of the Labour Party, from the Bridge Hall Community Centre!

 

·      The site of the pictured, and former “Bridge Hall” is now the primary school’s yard. The school is aptly named, accordingly!

 

In many ways, this post is an extension of the last one.

 

There, I talked about a newfound interest in and affinity with the natural world.

 

And nature does not have a monopoly...

 

...I have also developed, an enhanced interest in some aspects of my surroundings, which arise from human activity...

 

As a part of this, I have developed a greater curiosity about some local history.

 

Related thereto, I have become interested in the derivation of certain place names and even street and building names.  This usually follows on from the former

 

“Oh - that’s how it got its name!”

 

In many cases, I arrive at points of historical interest (to me), through (often inadvertently) following a “trail” and the initial question, provides a good example...

 

The name of the Headway premises include the words “Bridge Hall”.

 

As does the primary school. 

 

Unsurprisingly, they are both situated in an area of that name!

 

To me, this begged the question of “why is it so called?” The answer seemed obvious, but I thought I’d better check.

 

I accessed the primary school website. Unsurprisingly, this didn’t provide me with an answer. It did however inform of its well-known alumni.

 

I then undertook a little more research, which confirmed the prior existence of an actual Bridge Hall.  The photograph was taken in the 1930s, shortly before its final demolition. 

 

This research also revealed the site of Bridge Hall - the primary school yard!

 

Having done this bit of reading, my curiosity was sufficiently aroused, to find out some more about the hall and some further reading followed...

 

It seems that the hall was very old and was probably built in the mid-14th century.

 

Its early owners were significant local gentry, who owned other lands in the region. Overall, it was a manor of some, local importance.

 

The property was significantly altered over the years and much of it was demolished. The pictured building depicts a fraction of its “former glory”.

 

 A once important manor house ended its days as a tenanted farm (well – arguably as a school yard!).

 

Regarding my interest in the derivation of names - owners of the hall included the Bamford Heskeths (not one pub, but two!) and the earl of Dundonald (some readers might be aware of a nearby street, bearing such name).

 

All the above made for interesting reading.

 

To avoid unwanted mental fatigue though, a line often needs to be drawn under things. 

 

Sometimes – “enough is enough”!

 

This is something that Phil v2.0 is not too good at.

 

By way of an example, this morning, I found myself pondering the validity of a statement I had read, as to how the hall fell into the hands of another important family (if it did, at all). I then spent a couple of hours attempting to clarify the issue. I think that I now, know the answer but cannot be sure.  

 

Rather than feel frustrated about my uncertainty, perhaps I should tell myself that I don’t need the answer (or at least, don’t need to know it today!) and be more prepared to draw a line under such things.

 

Today’s note to self – be more disciplined over recognising and accepting a need to stop (at least for that day) 

 

As Paul Simon said (1983):

 

“Maybe I Think Too Much”


Or in my case, perhaps:

 

Maybe I Drink Too Much!




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